SEO or SEM: Which is better?

SEO and SEM have many similarities, both are a type of online marketing, both methods are used by small and large businesses, and both are inexpensive ways to get eyes on your brand. But which of these methods work best? Is it all dependent upon time or money? Think of these methods as short-term and long-term strategies. SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the long-term strategy, requiring constant nurturing and tweaking. SEO requires the time, meta descriptions, titles, header tags, schemas, sitemaps, backlinks to appeal to your desired search engine. While both online marketing methods require strategy and planning, SEO isn't based on a short campaign. SEO involves more keyword and marketing research to start your journey and your research must align with your business goals. SEO is a great way to get a trusted, high-authority listing on Google and Bing. However, the work to get you on that magical first page of the search results can be tedious, time consuming, and can seem near impossible.

SEM or Search Engine Marketing is similar to SEO but you'll hear terms like, ad copy or cost-per-click, instead of website copy or meta descriptions. Here is where I believe business owners have the greatest chance to shine. SEO is a long and sometimes disheartening process. Small business owners especially, may not have the time to sit before a computer and craft the perfect vanity URLs and develop copy for a more "crawl-able" website. SEM swoops in and gives them a short-term solution to have an impact on search engines. With platforms like Google Ads and Bing Ads, business owners can reach potential customers when they're in the purchase intent and research stage of their buying journey. People often confuse SEO for being the free solution but the best way to rank high is to use paid services like MOZ, a paid SEO management tool, to navigate the SEO landscape and best practices. In my experience Google Ads is the easier route for small businesses. Content is key for both solutions but with Google Ads you can craft your content in a shorter amount of time and results will be campaign based and instead your website's overall content. You can closely monitor what your ads are getting you, while you compete with other businesses in your industry. The fight to the top of the search results can much more effective and rewarding with SEM. Things like your relevancy score, online reputation, and the search volume of your keywords can easily blend together get you a top result for paid search.

Conclusion For small businesses who cannot afford the advice or payroll of an SEO expert, SEM is the way to go. You can get more reach and more exposure in less time. Good SEO should always be on your checklist but the methodology behind it will take a considerable amount of time to be effective and time is not something everyone has.